You want to beat Trump? Hit him in the base.
But in a nice way. Sort of like how Reagan beat Carter and Kennedy beat Nixon and Obama beat Romney. Cheerful, with a bit of self deprecating humor, not angry. More mensch not momzer. (Harry Truman was a mensch, Rick Santorum a momzer).
What we need, right now, is for someone to go out into Trump Country and take it to him. Go to where he goes. Speak before he gets there and after he leaves. Stalk him. Rebut him. Correct him. Kid with him. Make it fun. Turn it into a debate. Bring a band. Make it a show. Follow the advice of my old friend Sheldon Adelson (who I haven’t met) “do something different and success will follow you like a shadow.”
By the way, I like Sheldon Adelson and Steve Bannon and Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders and Barack Obama. I don’t like sappy suck ups like Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton and John Bolton and Mike Pompeo. Oh, yeah, and I like Pat Buchanan and I don’t like Rachel Maddow and I like Babara Boxer and I can’t abide Joey (Jo-Jo) Lieberman and I think Steve Kornacki is great and a damn sight better than many of the MSNBC hosts that have their own shows and he doesn’t. I also like Malcolm Nance, Bob Costa and Ian Bremmer . I’m even starting to like Jennifer Rubin, but that took a while, a really long while. But, I digress…
We need a happy warrior. A fearless warrior. Doesn’t have to be a Democrat or a politician. It has to be someone known and respected. Could be retired military, business, academia or it could be a politician. The key qualification is that the person has to view Trump’s continued presence as President of the United States as an ongoing insult that has to be checked in the short term by, at a minimum, flipping control of the House of Representatives.
This is a short term assignment. Begin the planning immediately and go non stop 24/7 September 1 – November 6, 2018. The mission is to take Trump down, incrementally, amongst the people who, as Trump likes to say, “would still vote for me if I were to shoot someone on Fifth Avenue.”
Is this an Impeachment Movement? No. It could come to that in time, but not now. Trump’s hold on his base is too strong and his overall Job Approval numbers are too high for Impeachment to be viable. What needs to be done is for someone to go out into Trump Country and deliver an alternative message with a smile on their face and a little respect for who they’re speaking to…they’re called veterans and working folks and small business owners…they’re not called “deplorables.”
What’s the message that our happy warrior should take out into Trump Country? Ah, as my old friend Billy Shakespeare would say, “there’s the rub.”
In a word, the message our happy warrior should take into Trump Country is RESPONSIBILITY.
Democrats love to talk about rights. They get lockjaw on responsibility. Maybe that’s why in three counties in Pennsylvania Hillary was held to 13, 15, and 16 percent of the vote. THAT IS RIDICULOUS. Anybody who has not been indicted or caught in bed with a large furry animal should ever get clobbered anywhere like that. For the record, Obama was never held under 20% in any Pennsylvania county which means he was probably picking up some votes from folks that were “sure” he was a Muslim born in Kenya but liked him anyway. Good for them.
If I was advising our happy warrior I’d have him/her open the campaign in those three PA counties that were all overwhelmingly Trump. Go to a VFW or American Legion Hall. You’re talking to veterans. Honor their service. Tell them they took responsibility for the decisions of their government. They are to be commended for that.
Talk about NATO and how soldiers from the member countries laid down their lives with us in Afghanistan after 9/11. Tell these folks how much we all should appreciate their sacrifice and that President Trump hasn’t given their sacrifice the respect it deserves. Put it in terms of responsibility. The NATO countries honored their responsibility to us and the President has a responsibility to recognize that service and his failure to do so is dishonorable and irresponsible.
Bring up Israel. Trump has treated them better than any other country even though they have never fought and died with us and they’re into our pocket for $250 Billion. Seriously. Raise the question…isn’t it time for Israel to be responsible for itself. If not now, when?
I’d tell the happy warrior to ask, everywhere he speaks, for a show of hands on who owns a business. Honor them for taking the responsibility of meeting a payroll. As I wrote these words I thought of my late friend Duane Acklie, Owner, Crete Carrier Corporation, Lincoln, Nebraska. A great trucker and a lifelong Republican…a really extraordinary individual. I used to kid with Duane that if he ever ran or got appointed to the Senate the President’s job would be useless…everything would go through Duane. RIP Duane Acklie.
CONCLUSION
If no happy warrior is willing to step up and take on Trump with his closest supporters between now and the mid terms we’re taking the chance that “somehow” the House will go democrat…or not. Meanwhile, Trump sits astride the news cycle and the Ds talk to themselves about, what else, rights.
Who are my candidates for happy warrior? I’ve got three: Retired Four Star General Barry McCafferty; Former Virginia Governor, Terry McCauliffe and Comedian, Steve Colbert.
The likelihood that McCafferty would do it is zero.I had to mention his name because he commands tremendous respect and he’s not happy at all with our present leader. He was disgusted with Trump’s news conference with Putin in Helsinki.
I like Terry McCauliffe because he’s very high energy and fearless. Chris Matthews once asked him what he would do if he was debating Trump and Trump hovered over him as he did with Hillary? McCauliffe’s response…”they’d be picking him off the floor.” Terry could do it…the picking him off the floor part and the happy warrior part. Someone give him a call or send him this.
I don’t watch Colbert much but what I’ve seen I’ve always liked. He’s got that madcap quality that could be just what the doctor ordered. Same way…give him blast. Tell him his country needs him.
Comments are welcome at tomc[at]wednesdayswars[dot]com. Comments will be addressed in subsequent posts.